Heavy Metals Pollution Indices and Multivariate Statistical Evaluation of Groundwater Quality of Maru town and environs

Investigation was carried out on the groundwater quality of Maru town and environs in terms of Heavy metals concentration using the pollution indices and multivariate statistical approaches. 29 groundwater samples were taken from dug wells and one Borehole in the area and analyzed for the presence of Heavy metals, Temperature and PH. The concentration of the analyzed metals in the groundwater arranged in decreasing order is Cr ˃Fe ˃Mn ˃Zn ˃Cu ˃Ni with three elements Cr, Fe and Mn had concentrations above the WHO recommended limits. Calculated Pollution indices revealed low Cd and HEI values for the area while HPI gives an overall high value, consequently translating the area into high groundwater pollution zones. Correlation analysis did not produce any significant relation between the heavy metals. However Cd, HPI and HPI were strongly positively correlated to Cr, while a strong positive and significant correlation was observed between the computed indices. The PCA and HCA performed on the heavy metals produced results that are comparable and agreed with each other; both the CA and PC obtained revealed geogenic and anthropogenic origin for the dissolved heavy metals ions in the sampled groundwater. The study have revealed chromium pollution status for the area, based on the concentration level of the Cr in the sampled groundwater, computed indexes and statistical evaluation performed on the results obtained.